China sees record-breaking heatwaves in flood season

BEIJING -- China has seen record-breaking temperatures since the start of the flood season, with heatwaves arriving earlier and persisting longer than usual, the National Climate Center said Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the flood season, the average number of hot days across the country has reached 8.5, the highest ever for the same period. Meanwhile, the average temperature was the second-highest on record, Jia Xiaolong, deputy head of the center, told a press conference.

A total of 45 national weather stations logged record-high daily temperatures, with Shaanxi's Xingping hitting 43.1 degrees Celsius.

On July 2, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a high-temperature health risk warning, the first of its kind in history.

China has made adapting to climate change a priority. Notably, in 2024, the country released a national plan to build early warning systems for climate-related health risks.